A safety hint

Bogie · July 1, 2002, 11:37 AM

Guys, whenever possible, use a load of powder that comes close to filling your case. So you can see it. And so you can't over-charge it without noticing.

Heard about this at the range this weekend. Some guy was shooting a .338 Win with some 31 grain load of powder - I'm guessing he was cheaping out, and shooting a faster powder to try to save a few pennies per cartridge. He had a double charge, and blew up his rifle.

buford1 · July 1, 2002, 01:07 PM

It was not a double charge that blew up that rifle. The average powder charge for a 338 win mag is 60.0 gr. Maybe it was the low powder charge had something to do with it. More than likley wrong type of powder used. I don`t see how you can double charge a rifle cartridge theres just not enough room. I reload 223 up to 458 win and a whole bunch in between and know way can you double charge any of those. Excellent advice for loading hand gun cartridges.

C.R.Sam · July 1, 2002, 03:38 PM

Like Bogie said....could have been wrong powder and double charge.

I can think of several powders that could be used to double charge...double max load even...in a rifle case.

Sam

Bogie · July 2, 2002, 10:36 AM

I had one friend who was trying to load a .300 Win Mag with 4895.

Yes, you can save money by using a smaller amount of a faster powder - it can be done. But it (a) doesn't contribute to accuracy; and (b) is potentially unsafe. Just cuz a .38 may shoot okay with Bullseye doesn't mean that you should use a similar density load with a rifle...

July 1, 2002, 11:37 AM	#1
Bogie Senior Member Join Date: June 5, 2000 Location: Job hunting on the road... Posts: 3,827	A safety hint Guys, whenever possible, use a load of powder that comes close to filling your case. So you can see it. And so you can't over-charge it without noticing. Heard about this at the range this weekend. Some guy was shooting a .338 Win with some 31 grain load of powder - I'm guessing he was cheaping out, and shooting a faster powder to try to save a few pennies per cartridge. He had a double charge, and blew up his rifle. __________________ Job hunting, but helping a friend out at www.vikingmachineusa.com - and learning the finer aspects of becoming a precision machinist. And making the world's greatest bottle openers!

July 1, 2002, 01:07 PM	#2
buford1 Senior Member Join Date: May 6, 2002 Location: long beach.CA Posts: 116	double charge It was not a double charge that blew up that rifle. The average powder charge for a 338 win mag is 60.0 gr. Maybe it was the low powder charge had something to do with it. More than likley wrong type of powder used. I don`t see how you can double charge a rifle cartridge theres just not enough room. I reload 223 up to 458 win and a whole bunch in between and know way can you double charge any of those. Excellent advice for loading hand gun cartridges.

July 2, 2002, 10:36 AM	#4
Bogie Senior Member Join Date: June 5, 2000 Location: Job hunting on the road... Posts: 3,827	I had one friend who was trying to load a .300 Win Mag with 4895. Yes, you can save money by using a smaller amount of a faster powder - it can be done. But it (a) doesn't contribute to accuracy; and (b) is potentially unsafe. Just cuz a .38 may shoot okay with Bullseye doesn't mean that you should use a similar density load with a rifle... __________________ Job hunting, but helping a friend out at www.vikingmachineusa.com - and learning the finer aspects of becoming a precision machinist. And making the world's greatest bottle openers!

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July 1, 2002, 03:38 PM	#3
C.R.Sam Senior Member Join Date: October 29, 1999 Location: Dewey, AZ Posts: 12,858	Like Bogie said....could have been wrong powder and double charge. I can think of several powders that could be used to double charge...double max load even...in a rifle case. Sam